Often times defendants in car accident lawsuits carry the bare minimum for insurance policy limits. These limits may be as low as $20,000 to $50,000. Such an amount is almost never enough to adequately compensate car accident victims with serious physical injuries. This is especially true when victims require surgery or other expensive medical procedures. While health insurance companies may cover those costs initially, they will likely seek reimbursement from the victim after a lawsuit settlement under its lien or subrogation rights. Subrogation occurs when a policyholder is injured in an accident and the health insurer pays $20,000 to cover the medical bills, that same health insurance company is allowed to collect $20,000 from the at-fault driver or the insured to reconcile the payment.
Having supplemental uninsurance or underinsurance motorist (“SUM”) coverage can be a life saver in situations like this. With SUM coverage, the car accident victim can look to their own insurance policy to cover additional costs when the insurance of the at fault party falls short. SUM coverage means that if the person who causes a car accident is uninsured, there is still coverage for you and your household relatives, up to the amount of coverage you purchase. This also means that if the person who causes an accident is underinsured, there may be additional coverage available up to the amount of your insurance rider.
Moore Kuehn recently filed a lawsuit against its client’s insurer demanding it pay all amounts owed under the SUM policy. This should provide the client the time and financial support necessary to recover from their injuries while out of work with substantial medical bills. Before hiring a car accident attorney, you should confirm they understand the importance of SUM coverage and what it means for your case. Contact us to review your automobile policy coverage, so that we can explain how the coverage works, each coverage’s limitations, and how it might benefit you.